Just another WordPress.com weblog

I should have to start blogging earlier, but I could not how to manage the research process. Actually, I spent much time to search for suitable resources, but I don’t have any classmate with me to peek out. After long time wandering, I decided to keep blogging for facilitate research process. In addition, I read a research result regarding blogging. From the interview results, I learned students writes down anything while they are studying for reflection even emotional things. I was sensitive to write in my blog because it is open to public. However, I noticed that students don’t care about who gonna read it. Okay, I want to have a record of reflection to improve my research and soothe me to keep going.

In the first week, everything was chaos. I came back to my home to meet family. Even though I registered my course earlier, but I had to check it out again for changing. Therefore, I should register the class in the airplane, after borrowing a laptop from other passenger. I just started this research with tremendous chaos.

My research topic was given, but I was so surprised becuase it is about science education which I have never tried before.

This is from my posting of a course work I am doing this semester. I think this is the starting poing of my future research.

Actually I read the article ( E learning and ideology- a post modern paradigm or liberal education reborn? by Mauren Spencer, 2004) several times, but I could not catch any clue to answer for your question. From easier article, I grasped some concept of Postmodernism, but I had a question: Is there any conflict between learner-based education and equality or focusing more on community?

I wanted to ask this question first. I found out that postmodernist education is about learner-centered and discusses community more. How people pay attention to more community, discussing diversity? Isn’t it chaotic for community to consider diversity or individual?

Today, I watched a movie, “The blind side,” and I could find all postmodernists who concern about the poor and homeless black boy, Michael, protecting his blind side.

You already knew that the movie is based on true story of Michael Oher.

Even though I don’t know much about the rule of football, I want to say the blind side as a ZPD here. In the movie, most helpers of Michael are supporting him, considering his specific features. The coach and Leigh found out Michael’s strong point and helped him develop his strength in sport. The tutor helped Michael how to express himself in writing, inspiring him emotionally and naturally. Some teachers let Michael learn through auditory instructions to improve his learning skills. All members of community help an individual, believing his potential parts. Now my question is solved. Focusing on a potential individual, community makes a minor part alive and improve which may be destroyed or lost under social unfair bias or miserable reality. In this case, the learner can be raised through community’s efforts. The success of the community is built by the success of the individual. That’s why we need to focus an individual to develop our community.

I think education should occur in the blind side where cannot be easily seen, but has potential growth. Blind side, it may destroy an individual or community if it is attacked. However, it can have hope if it is well protected. From there, learners, teachers, and community can be connected.

I want to be a protector and a helper for students’ blind side.

Then one of my peer gave feedback like this:

Eunjoo, I love your comparison with The Blind Side. What his parents and community did for him in spite of controversy was astounding! However, as I observe how much it took to focus on the specialized needs of one student, I wonder how a teacher is supposed to do this in a classroom full of students, where more than one might be a Michael Oher.

And then I realized what I should do as a instructional designer.

I replied like this:

That’s right. It is really difficult to take care of all students, but I think learning technology facilitates functions of teaching and learning.

Without these technologies, how dare I talk with you like this? I think if we have more comfortable and elaborated communication methods for more learners with various barriers, learning and teaching would be more beneficial without only teachers’ efforts or sactrifice.

I think it ‘s time to think about elaboration for learning technology.

This is a piggy bank which a restaurant gave me for opening present. It didn’t look so nice to me.

At that time, I and my daughter had dinner with my daughter’s friend and his mom. While we were talking, I found out the mom was so sensitive and worried too much about her son. Moreover, she tried to make brag of her son, blaming other people. I was so uncomfortable, but I could understand her like other moms. However, I concerned about her bias about other people as dangerous. Actually I became to be sick not to stop her because I could easily imagine how her bias would work for others. In other words, while I was very uncomfortable not being like her as a mom, I was also very uncomfortable not to criticize anything about her dangerous bias. I tried to balance righteousness with mom’s love at that time.

After coming home, I painted the piggy bank like this:

I remembered the children’s story about mom’s pure love. I wanted to keep this love not destroying others. Keeping it mind, I stayed several nights to paint the piggy bank.

When I talked with her, I identified the problem: my consciousness was fighting to be a good mom and to be a good neighbor. I wanted to express my love for my kid, not to destroy others’ feeling. I could see the piggy bank and it maintained the story which I wanted to keep a lesson to be balanced as a good mom and a good neighbor. I recalled the story about mom’s love and connected it with the piggy bank. I could notice shape of the piggy can fit the mom and baby picture. Then I painted it. I have a piggy bank, and it has a story which can be a kind of retrieval cue of the lesson on that day. I wanted to get rid of the comfortable feeling of that day or transfer it into pleasant memory, so I wanted to visualize the change of my feeling on the material which I got that day.

Whenever I see this piggy bank, it reminds me how I felt and learned a lesson that day.

Just like this, I am trying to transfer my feelings when I studying in online learning environment which I have never experienced into pleasant or positive feelings to help other prospective students in my future life.

It could be another adventure for me to get ideas on Instructional Design. Learning takes place everytime and everywhere. It is so exciting to learn how learning and teaching efficiency has developed, can be improved by many theories, and mehods. The most attracive point is for me to apply what I learn for real world actually.